Hebrew Bible

Description

This course critically examines the text of the Hebrew bible in its historical, cultural and religious contexts. It provides students with more detailed insights and a working knowledge of the various texts which make up the Hebrew bible (including non-Hebrew sources), as well as its development and formation into unified whole as the Old Testament for Christians and the Tanakh for Jewish traditions. Students will learn the conventions of Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek transliteration.

Exegetical skills will be taught combined with critical methodological tools including textual criticism, literary criticism, form criticism, redaction criticism and historical criticism along with narrative, social scientific and other hermeneutic theories. These will be employed with regard to specific Hebrew bible pericopes. The Hebrew bible is important for Jewish and Christian as well as Muslim faiths. Some attention to how these different traditions have appropriated these texts will be explored with reference to the Quran and New Testament.

Availability

Not currently available.

This Course was last offered in Semester 2 - 2015.

Learning Outcomes

On successful completion of the course students will be able to:

1. Demonstrate understanding of the historical, cultural and religious contexts which influenced the formation of the Hebrew bible;

2. Analyse the text of the Hebrew bible with nuanced attention to its various genres and literary styles;

3. Employ appropriate exegetical and hermeneutic methodologies in order to critically analyse the Hebrew bible and better understand its reception;

4. Demonstrate writing, research and information technology skills appropriate to studies in religion and theology.

Content

The course introduces the historical, cultural and religious contexts of the Hebrew bible and helps students to employ exegetical interpretive methodologies in order to understand its content in a more sophisticated manner.

Replacing Course(s)

This course replaces the following course(s): THEO2004. Students who have successfully completed THEO2004 are not eligible to enrol in RELT2033.

Requisite

This course replaces THEO2004. If you have successfully completed THEO2004 you cannot enrol in this course.